Oil container and a process for the production thereof

ABSTRACT

What is proposed is an oil container which is suitable for use in optimizing the oil balance of an internal combustion engine or a transmission, particularly an automatic transmission, and which has low weight and can be produced in such a way that adverse effects with respect to the reliability of the overall system are virtually excluded, and a process for producing same. To this end, the oil container is to be designed in such a way that the volume flow capable of entering the oil container through said at least one inlet opening ( 8 ) is invariably greater than the volume flow capable of discharging through said at least one outlet opening ( 12 ), said oil container being constituted of multiple components using at least two plastic housing components ( 1, 2, 3 ), at least two of said plastic housing components being joined to each other by laser welding.

The invention relates to an oil container for engines and transmissions,particularly automatic transmissions for motor vehicles.

It is general practice in motor vehicles to feed the oil circulationrequired for lubricating and cooling the engine from an oil sumpsituated in an oil pan beneath the engine, where the oil is sucked outof the oil pan and fed with pressure into an oil channel system of theengine by means of an oil pump. The oil drips and flows from thelubricating and spraying sites back into the oil pan. The surface of theoil pan serves to cool the oil; if increased cooling is required, aseparate oil cooler is coupled into the circulation, preferably at thepressure side thereof.

The oil volume is determined by the circulating volume of the oilcirculation and by the oil residence time in the oil pan required forsufficient cooling.

On the other hand, it is desirable to maintain the oil volume as low aspossible, so that the oil after cold starting would reach its operatingtemperature as quickly as possible and assume its functions as intendedby design. To cut down the consumption, it is also desirable to maintainthe weight of an operational engine, also including the oil filling, aslow as possible. In addition, aerodynamic requirements necessitate anengine construction as small as possible, particularly avoiding largeoil pans.

With large oil volumes, in particular, additional constructional volumemust be provided near the oil pan, because the volume of the oil supplyis substantially increased as a result of thermal expansion when the oilis heated up. Even at the maximum operating temperature, the oil levelin the oil pan must not be allowed to rise such that the counterweightsof the crankshaft submerge in the oil supply. Such submerging would giverise to oil foaming and, if such oil foam is taken in by the oil pump itmay lead to an oil pressure breakdown and subsequently to major enginedamage.

To avoid these problems, a so-called dry sump lubrication has beenprovided in the past, particularly with high performance engines,wherein merely a very small oil pan is provided beneath the engine, fromwhich the oil having dripped back is conveyed by a conveying pump into aseparate oil reservoir outside the engine. Necessary cooling of the oiland providing a sufficiently large amount of oil, as well as appropriatespace of expansion when the oil is heated can be accomplished in such aseparate oil reservoir in a technically simple fashion. At the sametime, such an oil reservoir can be combined with an oil cooler. By meansof a pressure pump, the oil is fed from the oil reservoir into the oilcirculation of the engine. This solution allows minimizing theconstructional volume of the engine and a nearly optimum oil circulationdesign. However, this solution involves the drawbacks of additionalconstructional input for a separate oil reservoir, the correspondinglines and the additional oil conveying pump. Furthermore, the oilpressure pump has to be mounted separately and cannot be integrated inthe crank drive, as is the case in vehicles having wet sump lubrication.As a result, there are substantial additional costs, so that dry sumplubrication in large-scale produced vehicles is no longer possibletoday.

In analogy, the above-mentioned problems with internal combustionengines also arise in downstream transmissions. In this event, however,there are further requirements as to limiting the oil volume, becauseheating of the oil to operation temperature proceeds more slowly as aresult of an absent internal source of heat, as by combustion in anengine, and, in addition, there are even more severe restrictions withrespect to the available space for installation.

In particular, this is true in automatic transmissions wherein a largersupply of oil is required due to the system. The reason for this is thatthe oil supply in an automatic transmission not only is required tolubricate the bearings and gear pairs but rather, the oil also serves inthe hydrodynamic transfer of engine power to the transmission via ahydrodynamic torque converter and, in addition, is used as hydraulicfluid to control the transmission. In particular, the use as hydraulicfluid to produce frictional transfer of the multiple disc and strapbrakes should be mentioned, by means of which the gears are shifted inan automatic transmission. In a fully automatic transmission,particularly for use in automobiles or all-terrain utility vehicles,shifting normally is effected under load, i.e., with no interruption inpower flux, and therefore, the transmission oil also has to absorb anddissipate lost heat generated by slippage of the multiple disc and strapbrakes as a result of the speed difference during shifting. For thisreason, special oils, so-called automatic transmission fluids (ATF) areused in such automatic transmissions.

However, the properties of such ATFs also include a comparatively highthermal expansion and an extreme tendency of foam formation. In contextwith the above-described conditions of operation, there is not only thenecessity of having a particularly broad range of operation temperaturesfor the ATF, but, in association with the relatively high thermalexpansion, the necessity of additional space for installation. The oilpan must be of such a design that under no conditions of operation theATF level will rise so high that the transmission gears submerge in theoil supply. Within an exceedingly short time, the rotating gears wouldgive rise to massive foaming of the ATF, so that the function of thetransmission would no longer be ensured and severe damage to thetransmission would have to be expected.

However, large volumes of oil in oil pans involve the disadvantage thatmalfunctions may arise because the oil supply in the oil pan moves fromone side to the other as a result of vehicle motion, so that the suctionnozzle of the oil pump possibly emerges from the oil supply, resultingin a breakdown of the oil pressure with corresponding damage. Onecountermeasure known from the field of use of internal combustionengines on board of boats and ships is to design the oil pan in a way soas to form partition walls dividing the oil pan space into multiplesections, said sections being in flow communication with each other. Thepartition walls prevent massive oil displacement by wave formation orperiodic movements of the drive, which would make the oil pump lyingbare. However, such a solution involves the disadvantage of immenseefforts when producing the oil pans, preventing a competitive pricelevel in a mass market such as automobiles. Furthermore, such partitionsin transmission oil pans of a generally quite flat design do not resultin substantial improvements.

A laser welding process for automatic transmission oil filters is knownfrom EP 0,995,535 A2 and DE 198 60 357 A1, wherein two plastic filterhalf-shells for automatic transmission oil filters are placed one on topof the other and welded along their common edge using laser light, onefilter half-shell consisting of laser light-permeable plastic and theother filter half-shell of laser light-impermeable plastic. The laserbeam is passed through the laser light-permeable filter half-shell alongthe position of contact with the other filter half-shell. As a result oflight absorption of the laser light-impermeable plastic material, thetwo filter half-shells are fused together in the welding zone. To thisend, the use of a neodymium YAG pulsed laser has been proposed.

It has also been described that the filter half-shells should be made ofthe same plastic material.

DE 195 10 493 A1 describes DE-OS 36 21 030 to report that plastic filmsare welded together by exposure to laser radiation. To this end, theplastic films are placed one on top of the other in a planar fashion.Subsequently, a focussed laser beam is directed onto the films, therebyheating the films in the irradiated area so as to reach a melted stateand undergo co-fusing.

EP 0,159,169 A2 is said to report a method of welding plates made ofplastic by means of laser radiation. The laser beam is said to penetratea first plate which is said to consist of a plastic material with noadditives, so that the plate is largely transparent for the laser beam.This plate is situated on a second plate provided with an additive sothat the laser beam Is absorbed in the plastic material. The laser beamis directed through the first plate and onto the second plate, so thatthe adjoining contact areas of the two plates are melted to form a jointduring subsequent cooling.

In this respect, it is described as disadvantageous in DE 195 10 493 A1that the first plate may not include any additive and is present in anon-colored opaque-white state, while the second plate can be coloredwith a black dye. The resulting unevenness of a component produced inthis way is described as disadvantageous to an extent that such aprocess would not be considered a possibility.

Also, DE 195 10 493 A1 suggests a process for producing switch housings,wherein coloration of both plastic components is said to be effected insuch a way that a first workpiece component has a transmission in arange of only is about 60% so as to maintain the color appearance of aswitch housing component as uniform as possible.

It is described as well-known in DE 198 60 357 A1 to produce filters tobe installed in automatic transmissions by joining housing half-shellsusing friction welding processes, e.g. various vibratory frictionwelding processes or welding by means of ultrasound. It is known to bedisadvantageous that these friction welding processes give rise toabrasion as a result of the relative motion between the counterparts tobe joined, which abrasion adheres to the final workpiece in the form ofa contamination. The corresponding firms and automobile manufacturerstherefore have elaborated numerous procedures and protocols according towhich components produced in this manner have to be cleansed so as tolimit the residual contamination to a statistically tolerable extent.

The invention therefore is based on the object of providing an oilcontainer of the type mentioned above, which container is suitable foruse in optimizing the oil balance of an internal combustion engine or atransmission, particularly an automatic transmission, and which has lowweight and can be produced in a way so as to virtually exclude adverseeffects with respect to the reliability of the overall system.

According to the invention, said object is accomplished by means of anoil container of the type mentioned above for automatic receiving anddischarging of a volume of oil, which container has a storage chamber toreceive a volume of oil, at least one inlet opening and at least oneoutlet opening, said at least one inlet opening and said at least oneoutlet opening being designed such that the volume flow capable ofentering the oil container through said at least one inlet opening isinvariably greater than the volume flow capable of discharging throughsaid at least one outlet opening, said oil container being constitutedof multiple components using at least two plastic housing components, atleast two of said plastic housing components being joined to each otherby laser welding.

Using an oil container according to the invention, it is possible,despite the problems illustrated above, to achieve a small constructionvolume—particularly with automatic transmissions—and, in particular, asmall oil pan, with material and production costs being so low that thecost of an oil container according to the invention is nearlycompensated by the savings resulting from the smaller transmissionhousing and the smaller oil pan.

This can be achieved by a design using plastic housing components whichcan be produced e.g. in an injection molding process at extremely lowcost and even with complex geometry, so that the oil container of theinvention can be accommodated at any position in the transmissionhousing where some space for installation is available, e.g. besidetransmission shafts.

As a result of the inventive design of inlet opening and outlet opening,it is possible e.g. for the ATF to proceed into the oil container of theinvention when a specific oil temperature is exceeded, or by drippingdown from lubricating points, said design ensuring that the container isalways maintained in filled condition, thereby relieving the oil pan bythe container volume. The outlet opening ensures slow emptying of thecontainer, e.g., when the transmission is idle, so that the entire oilvolume is available to the oil pumps when operation is resumed.

As a result of the multi-component partitioning, it is possible toachieve highly complex geometries, enabling arrangement of the oilcontainer even in angled corners of the housing. Owing to the laserwelding according to the invention, such a container can be produced ina particularly cost-effective and reliable fashion, because such laserwelding enables ensuring nearly perfect sealing between the housingcomponents, which is convenient in maintaining the storage volumeaccording to the design. Furthermore, such laser welding preventsformation of abrasion during production. Costly cleaning measures which,particularly in case of complex geometries, constantly give rise toresidual contamination, as well as the quality assurance associatedtherewith are rendered unnecessary from the start.

During processing, no abraded particles are formed which, especiallywhen using most of the economically interesting types of plastic, wouldstrongly adhere to the plastic components as a result of electrostaticattraction and thus could not be removed completely by cleaning efforts,and therefore, it is made sure that such abrasion cannot reach thesensitive electrohydraulic control of the automatic transmission via theoil flow during operation to cause permanent malfunction therein.Furthermore, it is made sure that such abrasion cannot reach themultiple disc and strap clutches of an automatic transmission via theoil circulation to cause a reduction of the friction values therein.

In tests, it has been found particularly convenient to produce at leastone of the plastic housing components from a non-pigmentedfiberglass-reinforced polyamide. On the one hand, this provides aparticularly favorable precondition for laser welding because such ahousing element absorbs only a minor part of the laser light, so thatthe energy of the laser beam is largely available at the respectivewelding seam. On the other hand, it is possible in this way to produceoil containers of sufficient dimensional stability and resistance toATF, mineral oil and residues of gasoline or diesel fuel possiblyincluded in motor oil.

Furthermore, for particularly easy and reliable production of thewelding seam, it is highly convenient to produce at least one of theplastic housing components from a fiberglass-reinforced polyamide,particularly one pigmented with carbon black. Pigmenting with carbonblack ensures that the laser beam is absorbed to a very high level inthe edge areas of such a constructional element, so that rapid andreliable melting of the irradiated areas is ensured by appropriateuptake of energy.

For sufficient durability of the oil container even at elevatedoperation temperature and yet, good transparency for the laser beam, atleast one of the plastic housing components conveniently has afiberglass level of at least about 10 wt.-%. For dimensional stabilityeven at elevated temperatures, the fiberglass level of any additionalplastic housing component is at least about 20 wt.-%, preferably about30 wt.-%.

For particularly reliable formation of the laser welding seam even incase of complex housing contours, it was found convenient if at leasttwo of the plastic housing components include a different content ofreinforcing fibers.

For dimensional stability of the oil container even at elevated oiltemperatures, at least one of the plastic housing componentsadvantageously also includes an amount of mineral filler of at leastabout 15 wt.-%, preferably about 20 wt.-%.

For the field of use in automatic transmissions, it was foundparticularly convenient if the volume capacity of the oil container isat least about 300 ml, preferably about 330 ml. On the one hand, thisprovides sufficient relief of the oil volume in the oil pan and, on theother hand, an oil container of such volume still can be integratedwithout enlarging the transmission housing.

One function as a dynamic oil storing means was found to be particularlyconvenient, namely, if the oil container is designed in such a way thata complete filling of the oil container with water discharges within atime period of at least about 210 seconds, preferably not more than 240seconds, particularly from about 220 to 230 seconds, from the oilcontainer in its operating position.

For efficient filling of the oil container, particularly by oil drippingfrom lubricating points, said at least one inlet opening in operatingposition of the oil container conveniently is surrounded by a collectingtray.

In tests using existing automatic transmissions, it was foundparticularly convenient if the collecting tray has a depth of at leastabout 1.6 mm and is confined by ramps in at least two directions, theupper edges of which being about 4.3 mm above the inlet opening,particularly, if the collecting tray has a width of about 55 mm and/orthe collecting tray is at least about 10% wider than said at least oneinlet opening.

In order to use the oil container of the invention in an automatictransmission, it was found particularly convenient if the cross-sectionof the at least one inlet opening is at least 170 mm² and/or thecross-section of the outlet openings together is not more than 3 mm². Onthe whole, tests have revealed that a particularly efficient use isachieved if the cross-section ratio of outlet openings and inletopenings is at least 1:10.

To make sure that the oil container of the invention is filled onlyafter the oil volume increases as a result of thermal expansion, so thatfilling thereof is required, the inlet opening in a particularlyconvenient fashion is covered by a bimetallic closure releasing theinlet opening only after a predetermined temperature has been exceeded.

To make sure that the bimetallic closure responds to the oil temperatureactually present, the bimetallic closure in a particularly convenientfashion is arranged within the collecting tray.

In one embodiment to be produced in a particularly cost-effectivefashion, the oil container is constituted by multiple components usingat least three plastic housing components joined to each other by laserwelding, at least two of which being non-pigmented or colored so as tobe laser light-permeable.

Particularly suited for producing an oil container according to theinvention is a process for producing a multi-component oil containerusing at least two plastic housing components, at least one plastichousing component being formed of a non-pigmented or laserlight-permeably colored, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material,preferably by injection molding, and at least one other plastic housingcomponent being formed of a carbon black-pigmented or laserlight-impermeably colored, fiber-reinforced plastic material, preferablyby injection molding, said at least two plastic housing components beingjoined together along their contact areas using pressure, and the gaparea between the at least two plastic housing components beingirradiated with a laser, so that the edge area of the carbonblack-pigmented or laser light-impermeably colored plastic housingcomponent undergoes melting, the molten material being supplied withsufficient energy, so that the area of the non-pigmented or laserlight-permeably colored plastic housing component is melted by contactwith the molten material, and the melted edge areas join to form agapless welding seam.

With reference to one embodiment illustrated in the appended drawings,the invention will be explained in more detail below, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective illustration of an oil container according tothe invention in oblique top view;

FIG. 2 shows another perspective illustration of the oil containeraccording to the invention, likewise in oblique top view;

FIG. 3 shows another perspective top view of the oil container of theinvention according to FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 shows a perspective bottom view of the oil container of theinvention according to FIGS. 1 to 3.

In particular, the oil container according to the invention, asillustrated in the figures, is intended for use in an automatictransmission for an automobile, serving to temporarily receive a volumeof ATF, the capacity of the oil container being about 330 ml. The oilcontainer is formed of multiple plastic housing components, namely, acentral part 1, a large housing cover 2, and a small housing cover 3. Inthe example described, the housing covers 2 and 3 are formed byinjection molding using a non-pigmented thermoplastic material, namely,PA 6-GF, including a fiberglass level of about 10 wt.-%, preferably withan additional mineral filling of 20 wt.-%. The covers 2 and 3 are ofessentially flat design, conveniently having a groove not specificallyillustrated which extends along the edge and is adapted to receive thehousing edges of central part 1.

The large housing cover 2 additionally has a protruding section 4arranged outside the circumferential groove, terminating a tray 5 formedin the central part 1 of the final oil container.

In a similarly preferred fashion, the central part 1 is formed byinjection molding using a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic material,preferably PA 66-GF, including a fiberglass level of 20 wt.-%,preferably 30 wt.-%. Obviously, other suitable reinforcing fibers canalso be used in the plastic housing components.

Furthermore, the material forming the central part 1 is additionallyprovided with a mineral filling of about 20 wt.-%. Conveniently, thecentral part 1 is pigmented in a laser light-impermeable fashion, e.g.by means of carbon black.

Conveniently, one or two fastening flanges 6 are molded on the centralpart 1, to which the oil container can be secured e.g. in an automatictransmission. If this is done by means of screws, for example, and iffurther constructional elements of the transmission are held by thesescrews, it may be convenient to mold metallic bushings 7 into thefastening flanges 6 so as to avoid unacceptable setting of the screwjoint by relaxation of the plastic material.

The above-described oil container is produced by placing the two covers2 and 3 on the edge of central part 1 and applying some contact pressureso as to ensure reliable contact of covers 2 and 3 with central part 1.Subsequently, the edge area of central part 1 is heated and melted bymeans of a laser beam through the non-pigmented covers 2 and 3, and themolten material is supplied with energy in an amount that, as a resultof contact of the covers with the molten material, the covers likewiseundergo melting within the area of the is groove, and the melted edgezones of covers 2 and 3 and central part 1 are joined to form a gaplesswelding seam.

The welding seam is tight to liquids with an extremely low failure rate,and no abrasion or welding waste is formed during the welding process,which, as a contamination of the oil container, would have to beeliminated by cleansing. In particular, this is highly advantageous inthat the oil container is essentially closed and would have to becleaned from abrasion with great effort and considerable residues ifanother type of welding process were used.

The welding process according to the invention also permits easy andreliable welding in case of complicated contours of the housing, withoutnecessitating a secondary treatment, the process not being limited toproducing a planar welding seam as performed in the present embodimentfor other reasons. The oil container thus produced is resistant tomineral oils commonly used and to gasoline or diesel fuel possiblypresent as residues in motor oil. Owing to the high percentage offiberglass in the central part 1 and the additional mineral filling, theoil container according to the invention also has high dimensionalstability at elevated temperatures.

The exemplary oil container illustrated in the figures is intended toreceive part of the oil volume in an automatic transmission duringoperation so as to prevent the oil level in the oil pan from rising bythermal expansion to such an extent that the transmission gears wouldsubmerge in the oil sump, thus giving rise to undesirable foam formationjeopardizing operational safety. To this end, the oil container can bearranged at any position in the transmission, preferably above the oillevel of the oil sump, utilizing corners present in the space forinstallation.

In a particularly convenient fashion, the oil container is situated inthe dripping area of lubricating points or in the reflux of the oilcooler preferably switched on thermostatically. To this end, the ATFenters the container through an inlet opening in the form of a slot 8;obviously, it is also possible to provide multiple inlet openings. Anarea of at least 170 mm² has proven to be a convenient cross-section forslot 8 so as to ensure sufficiently rapid filling of the container and,on the other hand, prevent that part of the oil volume present in thecontainer would splash or slosh out of the container as a result ofmotor vehicle motion. To ensure sufficiently rapid filling of thecontainer, a collecting tray 5 is provided around slot 8, which, quitelike a funnel, is capable of collecting the oil reaching the top side 9of the oil container. To this end, the collecting tray 5 is formed bytwo ramps 10 sloping towards slot 8 and terminated by a fastening flange6 at the sides thereof and by the protruding section 4 of the largehousing cover 2. Suitable dimensions were found to be those wherein thecollecting tray 5 conveniently is about 10% wider than the slot 8, e.g.about 55 mm. In case the ramps 10 protrude over the slot 8 by about 4.3mm, a depth of the tray of about 1.6 mm within the region of the slotwas found to be sufficient.

In order to properly comply with the function as a dynamic intermediatestoring means, an outlet opening 12 arranged at the bottom side 11 ofthe oil container has a cross-section which Is not more than one tenthof the cross-section of the inlet opening, conveniently not more than 3mm². Depending on the mounting position of the oil container, the outletopening 12 can also be designed in the form of multiple outlet openings.

It was found particularly convenient in experiments if the dimensionsare such that a complete filling of the oil container with waterdischarges within at least about 210 seconds, preferably not more than240 seconds, particularly from about 220 to 230 seconds, e.g. about 226seconds from the oil container in its operating position.

Depending on the field of use of the oil container which normally isintended to receive an excess volume resulting from thermal expansion ofthe oil, it may also be convenient, depending on the arrangement of theoil container in the transmission, to provide the inlet opening withe.g. a bimetallic closure not illustrated in the drawings, which ensuresthat the inlet opening is released by respective bending of thebimetallic strip only after a specific oil temperature is reached, sothat volume flows into the oil container not before this point. In thisrespect, such a bimetallic closure conveniently would be arranged withinthe collecting tray which, particularly for such a use, conveniently isdesigned to be somewhat deeper, so that the bimetallic closure isconstantly wetted by oil dripping down or flowing past, releasing theinlet opening according to the actual oil temperature.

When switching off the engine or transmission having installed the oilcontainer of the invention therein, the oil volume present in thecontainer slowly discharges through the outlet opening 12 and flows backinto the oil pan, so that a sufficiently high oil level is present inthe oil pan after cooling down of the machinery and a correspondingdecrease in volume, so as to ensure sufficiently deep immersion of thesuction nozzle of one or more oil pumps and rapid build-up of therequired oil pressure when putting the machinery into operation.

1. A container for receiving and discharging an automotive fluid,comprising: a housing defining a storage chamber and comprising at leasttwo plastic housing components, the at least two plastic housingcomponents are joined together by laser welding; at least one inletopening in the housing further comprising a closure covering the atleast one inlet, and wherein the closure releases the at least one inletopening when a predetermined temperature of the automotive fluid isexceeded; and at least one outlet opening on the housing, wherein across-section of said at least one inlet opening is greater than across-section of said at least one outlet opening, and wherein, duringuse of the container, there is a net rate of flow into the storagechamber.
 2. The container of claim 1, wherein one of the at least twoplastic housing components is made of a non-pigmentedfiberglass-reinforced polyamide.
 3. The container according to claim 1,wherein one of the at least two plastic housing components is made of acarbon black-pigmented fiberglass-reinforced polyamide.
 4. The containeraccording to claim 1, wherein one of the at least two plastic housingcomponents has a fiberglass amount of at least about 10% wt.
 5. Thecontainer according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least two plastichousing components has a fiberglass amount of the at least about 20% wt.6. The container according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least twoplastic housing components has a fiberglass amount of at least about 30%wt.
 7. The container according to claim 1, wherein a first one of the atleast two plastic housing components comprises a greater content ofreinforcing fibers than a second one of the at least two plastic housingcomponents.
 8. The container according to claim 1, wherein one of the atleast two plastic housing components comprises an amount of mineralfiller that is at least about 15% wt.
 9. The container according toclaim 8, wherein the amount of mineral filler is at least about 20% wt.10. The container according to claim 1, wherein a volume capacity of thecontainer is at least about 300 ml.
 11. The container according to claim1, wherein a volume capacity of the container is at least about 330 ml.12. The container according to claim 1, wherein a complete filling ofthe container with water discharges, within a time period of at leastabout 210 seconds, but not greater than 240 seconds, from the container,when said container is in an operating position.
 13. The containeraccording to claim 12, wherein the time period ranges from about 220seconds to about 230 seconds.
 14. The container according to claim 1,wherein said at least one inlet opening is surrounded by a collectingtray.
 15. The container according to claim 14, further comprising rampshaving upper edges that are about 4.3 mm above the at least one inletopening, and wherein the collecting tray has a depth of at least about1.6 mm and is confined by said ramps in at least two directions.
 16. Thecontainer according to claim 14, wherein the collecting tray has a widthof at least about 55 mm.
 17. The container according to claim 1, whereinthe cross-section of said at least one inlet opening is at least about10% wider than the cross-section of said at least one outlet opening.18. The container according to claim 1, wherein the cross-section of theat least one inlet opening is at least 170 mmZ.
 19. The containeraccording to claim 1, wherein said at least one outlet opening is aplurality of outlet openings and a cross-section of the plurality outletopenings summed together is not more than 3 mm2.
 20. The containeraccording to claim 1, wherein a cross-section ratio of said at least oneoutlet opening and at least one inlet opening is at least 1:10.
 21. Thecontainer according to claim 1, wherein the closure is a bimetallicclosure.
 22. The container according to claim 21, wherein the bimetallicclosure is arranged with the collecting tray.
 23. The containeraccording to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises at least threeplastic housing components joined to each other by laser welding, andwherein at least two of the at least three plastic housing componentsare at least one of non-pigmented and colored so as to be laserlight-permeable.
 24. A container for receiving and discharging anautomotive fluid, comprising: means for receiving an automotive fluid;means for storing the automotive fluid received from the receivingmeans; means for discharging the automotive fluid stored in the storingmeans, wherein a net rate of flow into the receiving means is greaterthan a net rate of flow from the discharging means; and means forcovering the receiving means, wherein the means for covering releasesthe receiving means when a predetermined temperature of the automotivefluid is exceeded.